What is a living will?

• A. A durable power of attorney appoints someone to healthcare decisions.
• B. A do not resuscitate order prevents resuscitation.
• C. A living will is a written document that directs treatment based on the client's wishes if terminal.
• D. A license allows registered nurses to offer the public their skills.

Answer: (C)

A living will is a written advance directive that records a person’s wishes about medical treatment in situations where they can’t communicate or make decisions themselves, typically when they are terminally ill or permanently unconscious. It specifies which life-sustaining interventions should or should not be used, guiding clinicians to provide care that aligns with the patient’s values. It becomes active only when decision-making capacity is lost and is focused on the treatments the person wants or doesn’t want. It differs from a durable power of attorney for health care, which names a specific person to make medical decisions for the patient when they can’t, handling broader decisions not spelled out in a living will. A Do Not Resuscitate order is a separate medical order about whether to perform CPR during cardiac or respiratory arrest and can reflect the living will or the patient’s current wishes, but it is not the living will itself.